The present invention relates to a tap dance shoe and a method for applying a tap to a dance shoe and more particularly, a method for applying a metal tap and attachment fixture to a sole of a dance shoe.
A shoe used for tap dancing has a tap attached to the front of the sole of the shoe and a tap attached to the rear of the shoe where a heel is located. The tap should be firmly attached in a way that enables the shoe to produce a good quality tap sound.
One technique for applying the taps to the sole is to nail the tap to the sole or screw the tap directly onto the sole or heel. Typically, the tap is fastened by at least three screws, one at the tip (or rear) and two spaced from the tip (or rear) where the tap widens.
Because the screw or nails are likely to work their way out of the sole through normal use of the tap, it is known to apply a thin piece of fiber board to the surface of the sole with numerous nails. The fiber board is thin enough so that it does not effectively increase the thickness of the sole. Then the tap is attached to the sole by nailing or screwing the tap to the sole of the shoe through the fiber board. The fiber board is held by the screws or nails to hold the tap securely. But securing the tap still usually requires attachment in at least three locations and the screws or nails still can work their way loose from the sole of the shoe because of the lever action of the tap against the sole of the shoe.
A tap may also be applied by forming threaded holes in the sole, installing an internally threaded, generally rivet-shaped or T-shaped nut in each of the threaded holes formed in the sole and then applying the tap to the sole. The T-nut includes a flange having a plurality of prongs on a surface of the flange facing the sole of the shoe. The prongs are nailed to the sole of the shoe to secure the T-nut to the shoe. Then the tap is secured to the sole by inserting and tightening a screw through a hole in the tap and into the T-nut embedded in the hole in the sole.
This method presents problems as there are manufacturing tolerances in forming the holes and in forming the taps which sometimes result in misalignment of holes. Also, the lever action of the tap often causes the prongs of the T-nut nailed to the sole to be pulled out allowing the fiber board and the tap to separate from the sole of the shoe. Further, since three bolts are required, the installation time may be as much as 15 minutes.